


The Hanging Tree

by andiownyousomuch



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, If You Squint - Freeform, Manga Spoilers, Romance, V14, i have many feelings about them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 05:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3965941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andiownyousomuch/pseuds/andiownyousomuch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A missing moment in Anteiku Raid (manga). Before Kaneki, Irimi and Koma reach first V14.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hanging Tree

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Tokyo Ghoul Week √2, Day 5 Gluttony – Minor Characters Day. Title and verses from “The Hanging Tree” (from The Hunger Games).

_“Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree?_

_Where I told you to run, so we’d both be free._

_Strange things did happen here._

_No stranger would it be_

_If we met at midnight in the hanging tree.”_

“I’m okay,” Kaya says to her comrade, her voice hoarse. “Go ahead, and see how the others are doing.”

 

Her companion seems to hesitate, but it’s not until he acknowledges someone’s presence in a point behind Kaya that he nods and goes deeper into the tunnel. The answer for that comes soon:

 

“Hey, Kaya.”

 

As she gets closer, she sees Enji’s silhouette on the opposite side of the tunnel. He’s without his mask, too, and is leaning to his front, hand on his stomach.

 

“Did Kaneki-kun save you too, Kaya?” he asks.

 

“Yes. I’m really pissed-off,” she says, her tone uncharacteristically mad. Enji laughs at this.

 

“Oh, it couldn’t be worse than me. He carried me around like I was a princess.” And this time, it’s Kaya’s discreet laughter that echoes through the place.

 

It causes Enji to smile in spite of himself.

 

Now, he is next to her. A calloused hand meets her face, cupping her cheek in his palm.

 

“I thought I would meet you again just on the other side,” he says, in a quiet, small voice, so unlike him. And Kaya, in turn, allows herself to lean in his touch, allows herself to forget, just for a moment, that there’s a war occurring outside, on the surface.

 

Enji’s gaze shifts to her still-regenerating-wounds, all over her body, not much better than him. “We’re a mess,” he states, with a grin on his face. “Can you walk?” Kaya just nods in response, and they proceed to walk through the moist and dark underground passage. The walk to V14 is a long one.

 

After some time, it’s Kaya who breaks the silence. She confesses, “I was ready to die, Enji.”

 

He looks at her. “I know, Kaya.”

 

Guilty, worry and longing make a way within her voice. “We have to pay for our crimes, Enji. For these last, precious ten years.”

 

“I know, Kaya.”

 

“This is not his fight.  _Kaneki-kun doesn’t have to do this._ We fought for our sins. For Touka, Hinami-chan, Nishiki-kun, Renji-kun, Yoshimura-san… for our comrades. For the ones who will never forgive us.”

 

Enji carries a soft expression as he answers, “He too, Kaya. He and us, we’re the same.”

 

She faces him. In a broken voice, she echoes, “I know, Enji.”  _But we don’t deserve it_ , she leaves unsaid, a sad smile on her lips. His fingers reach hers on a fast grip, in understanding, before retreating back.

 

They continue to walk, close to each other, reassuring ghosts of touch between them.  _I’m here._

Despite of the darkness, soon, clarity catches to them, little by little. They’re almost there – a chance to live, and a third chance. They don’t deserve it, but they’ll survive. And yet, they can’t help but feel joy. They’ll see them again – Touka, Renji, Yoshimura–

 

They stop.

 

The scene before them takes their breath away (perhaps more).

 

They see: corpses drowning in a death-sea, in an ocean of red. A pale, tall man stands above the dead, like an unrelenting angel.

 

How could it be that they didn’t realize this sooner?

 

Maybe it was the fact that blood and death were so alike to them, at this point of the battle, that they didn’t even realize it. Maybe it was their wounds, which dulled their senses.

 

But it doesn’t matter, now. They know that much.

 

There are pain and sadness for their lost friends, but there’s also lucidity to their mourning. Their eyes meet, and so their wills. They won’t act out of fear or rage; what moves them is a sense of duty and determination. They’ll fight, even knowing what will happen next.

 

This is punishment.

 

This is atonement.

 

And they accept it.

 

“Together?”

 

His hand on hers. Tight, warm.

 

And they pray, please, let it be that this, this is the last sensation I remember.

 

“Together.”

 

They go.

 

.

.

.

 

_“We’re sorry, Kaneki-kun. We couldn’t… keep our promise to you.”_

-

 

_“Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree?_

_Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me._

_Strange things did happen here._

_No stranger would it be_

_If we met at midnight in the hanging tree.”_


End file.
